The present study was carried out to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation of chromium-methionine (CrMet) and vitamin C (VC) on performance, immune response, and stress status of laying hens subjected to high stocking density. A total of 360 Hy-Line W-36 leghorn hens (at 26 wk old) were used in a 2×3×2 factorial arrangement that had 2 cage densities (5 and 7 hens per cage), 3 Cr le...

BACKGROUND The ovaries are the primary targets of senescence effects in mammalian and avian species. In the present study, relationships between reproductive aging, sex steroids and the growth pattern of the pre-ovulatory follicle wall were investigated using young hens with long clutch (YLC), old hens with long clutch (OLC), old hens with short clutch (OSC), and old hens with interrupted long ...

An experiment was conducted to determine the distribution of nitrogen-15 in tissues of laying hens receiving different levels of N-CCC in diets. Twenty brown laying hens were divided into four groups and randomly assigned into one of four dietary treatment groups consisting of 0, 5, 50 and 100 ppm N-CCC inclusion. The hens were individually fed with the N-CCC diets in battery cages for 11 days ...

Very-low-density (VLD) lipoproteins and portomicrons were isolated from the plasma of immature and laying hens and their size, lipid composition and susceptibility to hydrolysis by lipoprotein lipase were compared. In agreement with other studies, VLD lipoproteins from laying hens were found to be smaller and have a different lipid composition than VLD lipoproteins from immature hens. Portomicr...

There has been growing social and scientific interest in recent years in laying hen welfare. Stress is an animal welfare parameter that has been found to alter laying hens’ physiology and social behaviour. Our study aims to test the effects of the different housing systems (laying cage, barn and free range) on the laying hens’ welfare. In this study we have taken a new approach to determine str...

Two trials were conducted each using 240 Chinese Ringneck pheasant breeder hens (Phasianus colchicus torquatus) to determine the economics of feeding various levels of Brewers Dried Grains (BDG) on egg production, fertility, hatchability, and feed consumption. Four treatment diets containing 0, 15, 30, and 45% BDG were fed to 3 replicate pens each, beginning 1 week prior to the onset of lay. Eg...

The aim of the present work was to compare the effect of organic production vs standard cage system on welfare and performance of a pure breed (Ancona) vs a commercial strain (Brown Hy-Line) of laying hens through a multifunctional approach (behaviour, tonic immobility, feathers score, antioxidant status of the body, blood parameters, innate immunity and mortality). The trial was carried out in...

Canthaxanthin (Cxn) is a fat-soluble red carotenoid pigment and is reported to be immunomodulatory. Broiler breeder hens were fed 0 ppm (Control), 6 ppm or 12 ppm Cxn to determine the effect of maternal dietary Cxn on chicks hatched from hens at 31 (Early), 45 (Mid) and 57 (Late) wk of age. Whole blood was obtained at 1 and 4 d of age to assess the number of cells able to engulf at least one Es...

A line of White Leghorn chickens was selected for high group productivity and longevity resulting in improved survival and feather score as well as reduced cannibalism and flightiness. Improvements in survival might have also been due to improved immunity. The present study was designed to test the hypothesis that selection for high (HGPS) and low (LGPS) group productivity and survivability als...